Dentistry in China is thought to have begun as early as 6500 BC. Tools and methods were of course quite crude, but the development of medical technology made Chinese dentistry quite successful.
Around the period the book takes place (early 1970's) it was widely believed that the cause of toothache was the gnawing of worms inside the teeth. The entire foundation of the relief of tooth pain was the placebo effect, which means that one undergoes the effect of a drug (or treatment in this case) that works solely for the reason that they believe that it does. The "dentist" would drill the tooth and/or puncture the gums until blood was drawn and would usually have a few live worms on hand to convince the patient that they were cured. There is no medical or scientific reason behind the relief of toothaches in these ways, but they seemed to work on the believers.
Other seemingly less painful methods of tooth relief adopted by the ancient Chinese involved acupuncture. This is a method in which many small needles are inserted into the body at points called "meridians" along where "qi" (or "vital energy") flows. Acupuncture was used for the treatment of other bodily pains as well.
Although many of these ancient treatments have long since been abandoned, acupuncture, despite its inconsistency in validity according to biomedical science, remains a legitimate therapeutic technique.
Around the period the book takes place (early 1970's) it was widely believed that the cause of toothache was the gnawing of worms inside the teeth. The entire foundation of the relief of tooth pain was the placebo effect, which means that one undergoes the effect of a drug (or treatment in this case) that works solely for the reason that they believe that it does. The "dentist" would drill the tooth and/or puncture the gums until blood was drawn and would usually have a few live worms on hand to convince the patient that they were cured. There is no medical or scientific reason behind the relief of toothaches in these ways, but they seemed to work on the believers.
Other seemingly less painful methods of tooth relief adopted by the ancient Chinese involved acupuncture. This is a method in which many small needles are inserted into the body at points called "meridians" along where "qi" (or "vital energy") flows. Acupuncture was used for the treatment of other bodily pains as well.
Although many of these ancient treatments have long since been abandoned, acupuncture, despite its inconsistency in validity according to biomedical science, remains a legitimate therapeutic technique.